The death penalty for drug offences
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International law restricts the death penalty, where it still exists, to the most serious crimes, and United Nations bodies have made clear more than once that drug offences do not belong to that category. Despite this, some states go on sentencing people to death and executing them for trafficking or possession of narcotics: in certain years these executions are a substantial share of the world total.
This page collects the news on death sentences and executions for drug offences.
Latest news
- FEBRUARY 24, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Four drug traffickers were executed by firing squad...
Four drug traffickers were executed by firing squad in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam, court officials said
- FEBRUARY 21, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Six drug traffickers were sentenced to death in southern...
Six drug traffickers were sentenced to death in southern Vietnam as part of the government's long-running campaign to wipe out the narcotics trade
- FEBRUARY 18, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six people charged with trafficking and selling drugs...
Six people charged with trafficking and selling drugs were sentenced to death by the Intermediate People's Court of Zhanjiang, in south China's Guangdong Province, in the case's first trial
- FEBRUARY 13, 2003IndiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last...
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last ditch effort to save Indian national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey from a death sentence for importing heroin into Indonesia
- FEBRUARY 13, 2003IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last...
The Indian government took diplomatic steps in a last ditch effort to save Indian national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey from a death sentence for importing heroin into Indonesia
- JANUARY 13, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China sentenced 10 people to death in two separate...
China sentenced 10 people to death in two separate cases in central and eastern China involving drug trafficking and armed robberies along highways, state media said
- JANUARY 13, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Five convicted drug traffickers were sentenced to death...
Five convicted drug traffickers were sentenced to death by a local court in Zhejiang Province
- JANUARY 8, 2003VietnamDEATH PENALTY
A Vietnamese court condemned Pham Van Thuan to death...
A Vietnamese court condemned Pham Van Thuan to death for trafficking 8 kilograms of heroin from neighbouring Laos into Vietnam, said a court official in Nam Dinh province, 100 kilometres south of Hanoi
- JANUARY 1, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
Iranian law imposes the death penalty for possession...
Iranian law imposes the death penalty for possession of more than 30 grams of heroin or five kilos (11 pounds) of opium
- JANUARY 1, 2003PakistanDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is imposed for several crimes, including...
The death penalty is imposed for several crimes, including robbery, hijacking, arms trading, drug trafficking, rape, and capital offenses, under Shari'a Law, introduced with governmental decrees, such as sexual relations between partners not married to ea
- DECEMBER 23, 2002VietnamDEATH PENALTY
A Vietnamese court rejected an appeal by Le My Linh,...
A Vietnamese court rejected an appeal by Le My Linh, 43, an Australian woman of Vietnamese origin, who is facing the death penalty for drug trafficking
- DECEMBER 23, 2002AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
A Vietnamese court rejected an appeal by Le My Linh,...
A Vietnamese court rejected an appeal by Le My Linh, 43, an Australian woman of Vietnamese origin, who is facing the death penalty for drug trafficking
- DECEMBER 8, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six members of a gang that smuggled more than 100 kilograms...
Six members of a gang that smuggled more than 100 kilograms of heroin into China were sentenced to death in Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, the official Xinhua News Agency reported
- NOVEMBER 21, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Hong Kong resident Cheung Tin-shung and mainlander...
Hong Kong resident Cheung Tin-shung and mainlander Cheung Siu-ngan were sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court for trafficking in drugs
- NOVEMBER 18, 2002IndiaDEATH PENALTY
Three men all Indians caught trafficking drugs in a...
Three men all Indians caught trafficking drugs in a sting operation were sentenced to death by the Dubai Supreme Court
- NOVEMBER 6, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian man was hanged in the northwestern city...
An Iranian man was hanged in the northwestern city of Tabriz after being convicted of drug-trafficking, IRNA reported
- NOVEMBER 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
Gary Jones, 53, of Southall, west London, was arrested...
Gary Jones, 53, of Southall, west London, was arrested at Bangkok airport when customs officials found 2
- OCTOBER 4, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
The Criminal Court sentenced a man to death after he...
The Criminal Court sentenced a man to death after he was convicted of possessing more than Bt2
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2002AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
Australia is maintaining diplomatic pressure on Vietnam...
Australia is maintaining diplomatic pressure on Vietnam to waive the death penalty against an Australian woman convicted of drug trafficking
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2002VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Australia is maintaining diplomatic pressure on Vietnam...
Australia is maintaining diplomatic pressure on Vietnam to waive the death penalty against an Australian woman convicted of drug trafficking
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A female Russian citizen was sentenced to death in...
A female Russian citizen was sentenced to death in China's Yongan province for drug smuggling
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Yelena Timchenko, a female of Russian citizenship,...
Yelena Timchenko, a female of Russian citizenship, was sentenced to death in China's Yongan province for drug smuggling, a report from the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
Three Indians were sentenced to death by a Dubai court...
Three Indians were sentenced to death by a Dubai court for possessing and dealing in drugs
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Yelena Timchenko, a female of Russian citizenship,...
Yelena Timchenko, a female of Russian citizenship, was sentenced to death in China's Yongan province for drug smuggling, a report from the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A British man was spared the death penalty but jailed...
A British man was spared the death penalty but jailed for life in Thailand for smuggling 4kg of heroin out of the country
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A British man was spared the death penalty but jailed...
A British man was spared the death penalty but jailed for life in Thailand for smuggling 4kg of heroin out of the country
- AUGUST 29, 2002AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
A court in the southern Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam...
A court in the southern Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam handed down the death sentence to an Australian of Vietnamese origin after she was found guilty of heroin trafficking
- AUGUST 29, 2002VietnamDEATH PENALTY
A court in the southern Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam...
A court in the southern Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam handed down the death sentence to an Australian of Vietnamese origin after she was found guilty of heroin trafficking
- AUGUST 17, 2002IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
A Thai and an Indian, namely Saelow Praset, 55, and...
A Thai and an Indian, namely Saelow Praset, 55, and Ayodya Praset Combay, 57, both sentenced to death for trying to smuggle heroin into Indonesia, expressed complaints to the press over the long delay concerning the reply to their application for a Presid
- AUGUST 17, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
A Thai and an Indian, namely Saelow Praset, 55, and...
A Thai and an Indian, namely Saelow Praset, 55, and Ayodya Praset Combay, 57, both sentenced to death for trying to smuggle heroin into Indonesia, expressed complaints to the press over the long delay concerning the reply to their application for a Presid